This was a challenging yet eventful and successful year for our Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum (MBHOFM). The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of the Duckworth Centre at the University of Winnipeg in April. The following were the highlights:
- The closure of our site saw the visitor count reduced to 3093, well below the usual number
- Our initiative to establish an endowment fund through the Manitoba Heritage Trust Fund (MHYP) and the Winnipeg Foundation where we were raising funds to ensure our long-term sustainability was completed when we reached our goal of $100,000.00
- The 18th Induction Dinner is planned for September 25, 2021, where our newest inductees will hopefully be able to be honoured –
- PLAYERS : Shawn Gray and Joanne Wells-Small
- BUILDERS : Manny Aranez, Ray Hurd, John Klassen and Randy Kusano
- TEAMS : Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate Raiders Varsity Boys,1982-83,1983-84, 1985-86 & 1988-89 and the Treherne Collegiate Tigers Varsity Girls, 1994-95, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000, & 2002-2003
- The continued growth of our heritage inventory collection; this year we saw some new additions of uniforms and other memorabilia
- The further organization of all printed materials and photographs in our collection with the use of the labeled hanging folders and vertical magazine racks
- Adding 4 new members to our Hall of Fame committee
- We continued to qualify as a Level 1 Museum by the Community Museum Grants Program which results in an annual grant
- Our financial situation remains solid; we are committed to investing our revenues directly into our Hall of Fame site and the basketball community in general
- Manitoba is still the only province in Canada that has a permanent site for a basketball hall of fame.
- Our MBHOFM is usually open every day during the year except for statutory holidays. It is open from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily depending on the pandemic.
- The members of our organizing committee are: Ross Wedlake (Chair), Janet McMahon, Vic Pruden (Past Chair), Jerry Ilchyna, Wes Crymble, Morris Glimcher, Jerry Hemmings, Carol Ploen-Hosegood, Ken Opalko, Susan Johnson, Coleen Dufresne, Kyla Shore, Tyler Crayston, Ted Stoesz, and Adam Wedlake (Recording Secretary - Ex-Officio).
For 2021 the following are planned:
- The replacement of the sliding glass doors on all five our display cabinets
- The creation of a third action photo collection depicting the glorious history of basketball in Manitoba
- A review of our guidelines for induction
In conclusion, we need to mention the tremendous and continuing support we get from the University of Winnipeg and Basketball Manitoba. Our Hall of Fame and Museum would not exist without this support and the support of our extended basketball community.
Respectfully submitted by
Ross Wedlake, Chair, MBHOFM